When taking a picture or recording a video, cameras need to determine the focal distance that renders the subject of the image in sharpest focus. Current autofocus solutions require a search of different focal depths and measuring contrast or performing phase detection using dedicated sensors. Another solution, known as dual-camera depth estimation, performs depth estimation using two cameras. Another conventional solution is focus stacking, which requires a camera to take a number of pictures at different focal depths and combine, or “stack,” them into one picture.
Many camera users also have a desire to form three-dimensional views of a given scene. While this can be done using stereoscopic cameras, it is difficult to do so with a single camera. While a stereoscopic camera can be approximated using a single camera by instructing the user to move the camera and take two photos at two horizontally displaced locations, this requires user intervention.